I had never been able to see Eels play live before since the shows he played in Portland were almost always 21+. The Aladdin will sometimes have shows that are 18+ or 21+, but with those, if you go with a parent and you're under the required age you're allowed in which I think is really cool. The last time Eels played in Portland it was at the Wonder Ballroom, but it was 21+ which they occasionally do there which really sucked, but I was finally able to see him this time around!
The Aladdin is a seated venue, and there is really no bad seat in the house. I was in the middle and center, and had a great view of the stage.
The opening act, Chelsea Wolfe, was good, but strange. It was sort of dream rock. She has an excellent voice, but I thought the music didn't accentuate it enough. Plus she never said anything between the songs to self-promote which is a big mistake that I often see with opening acts.
The set was beautiful. A chandelier with bare light bulbs hung down and created a wonderful ambiance. There were rows and rows of smaller light bulbs in front of a black backdrop that would be dim or bright and make patterns according to what song was playing. Very simple, yet effective staging.
Mark Oliver Everett (A.K.A. 'E') is the lead singer, and primary member of the band. He introduced the band a little way through the set, and it turns out a lot of them were from Portland! The band was made up of E alternating on piano and guitar, a stand-up bass player, a drummer, and a guy alternating between stand up steel guitar and acoustic and electric guitars. E told the audience early on that he had a cold and apologized if his voice was off, but his voice is already so scruffy sounding that if anything it enhanced his sound.
Throughout the show E commented on how he was playing 'bummer rock'. At one point he looked at the setlist and said "Oh this is a happier one," paused, and said "actually no, it's a real downer" (the song in question was It's A Motherfucker). Towards the end of the set he kept yelling out "Let's do another one!" before starting a new song. Before they went off stage for the formal encore, E hopped off stage and ran through the audience hugging people. It was super fun!
After the show was over I went up to try and get a setlist, but apparently the road crew weren't allowed to give them out per instructions from E. As my mom says "He puts the 'E' in eclectic", and according to her that night's show was the most mellow and 'normal' she's ever seen him.
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